In 2007, the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Croatia and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) through its LEED Centre for Local Development in Trento Italy (Trento Centre), have jointly undertaken an active review of local development partnerships and local governance in Croatia. To widely disseminate recommendations and lessons learned from this USAID-OECD review of local partnerships in Croatia, a web-based “Action Space” has been created, where local partnerships and their counterparts in government, business and civil society can consult OECD recommendations and international learning models. The aim is to inspire policy and practice innovation.

Rationale

This Round Table on “Local Governance in Local Development: the Role of Local Development Partnerships” was organised to present key findings and policy recommendations to a wider Croatian and international audience, with the aim to contribute to the on-going debate about the role of local partnerships in local governance and their overall contribution to local development.

Key policy recommendations resulting from the review process address the need for an increased co-ordination and integration between different policy areas at national level concerning local development issues and greater communication and exchange between local partnerships and central government institutions. Clear guidance for the work of partnerships, while maintaining the necessary flexibility, will be a pre-requisite for more effective local action. There should be greater support to joining up of efforts at local level within the framework of a local development strategy and regular opportunities for organisational development and specialised training for the partnership and its partners should be considered. Government counterparts of local partnerships will need to assist them in the establishment of strong performance management, monitoring and evaluation systems.

The 1.5 day event offered participants opportunities to exchange experiences and to learn from international good practice approaches in developing national support programmes for local partnerships, in increasing the joining-up of local actors, and in establishing effective performance management systems to make the economic and employment development contribution of local development partnerships more transparent and effective. Participants worked in small groups on the preparation of an Action Plan to foster local governance and the role of local partnerships by identifying and overcoming weaknesses and strengthening strengths.

Strengthening Local Governance and the Role of Local Partnerships in Croatia: Lessons from Local Approaches in Vukovar and VarazdinArsen Juric, Rule of Law and Local Government Program Manger, USAID Croatia and Ekaterina Travkina, Consultant for Outreach Activities, OECD

Brief presentation about OECD LEED Forum for Partnerships and Local Governance: what does it offer for local partnershipsMichael Förschner, Head of Department European Social Fund, Federal Ministry of Labour and Economics, Austria and Chair of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance

Territorial Employment Pacts in AustriaMichael Förschner, Head of Department European Social Fund, Federal Ministry of Labour and Economics, Austria and Chair of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance